MORE than £1,500 was raised in just 24 hours to help the parents of a young Shepshed boy suffering with an unknown neurological condition.

Nine-year-old Zakk Marks, or ‘Zakkamondo’ as he likes to be known, has to be carried and helped around by his parents - with his mum Emma’s back suffering from the strain.

He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was very little but since then the diagnosis has been retracted and the family have no answer as to what his condition is.

Since January, he has been experiencing unexplained thrashing, leading to him being sedated for his own safety as it has caused him various injuries, and Zakk has also been fighting a reoccurring infection.

So when mum Emma was explaining to friends about the problems her and Zakk’s dad Lee are facing, they decided to try and make a difference.

“I was speaking with my friends on our support group page on Facebook for mums with special needs children about Zakk not being able to get out of bed without me holding him as his current equipment is now too challenging for him and our ‘emergency’ seating assessment wasn’t until the April 27 and it’s hard to hold him,” Emma told the Echo.

“Liz Hughes, Rachel Clynick and Alison Smith set up a Facebook page to ask people to donate to get Zakk a custom made supportive seat called a ‘P’ Pod and within 24 hours they raised the cash!”

The Bottom Railway in Shepshed also held a last minute charity day organised by landlord Paul Hannay and Sue Garner which raised £210. The total raised has been £1,784.

“I can’t believe that there has been so much support and I’m so thankful that everyone cared enough to donate their hard earned cash for my little boy!,” said Emma.

“The seat is approximately £1,200, but we also need to change our car to a wheelchair access car which is expected to cost us around £1,500, so the additional funds will be used towards that cost.”